Continuous-rail crossing



C. M. RIHN, DECD. J. H. mm, aomlmsr'nmoa. CONTINUOUS RAIL CROSSING. APPLICATION mm saw 16. 919. RENEWED JULY 5. 192o.

1 64,315, Patented Jan. 4; 1921.

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WITNESSES IWVENTUR C 91.52 1; WM( By AYTfiHNEYS C M. R|HN,--DEC'D.- .I. M. RIHN, ADMINISTRATOR. commuous BAIL cnossm e. APPLICATION FILED SEPT 16,1919- RENEWED JULY 6. I920- "1,364,31 5, Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

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A TTOR/VEYS c. M. RlHN,-DECD. 1. i1. RIHN, ADMINISTRATOR. CONTINUOUS RAIL CROSSING. APPLICATION FILEUSEPT 16.!919- saurwzn my 6. 192 1,3 4,315, Patented Jan. 4,1921.

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WITNESSES ATTORNEYS INVENTQR UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

CHARLES MICI-IEAL Ell-IN, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY; JAMES M. RIHN' ADMINIS- TRATOR 0F SAID CHARLES MICl-IEAL RII-IN, DECEASED.

CONTINUOUS-RAIL CROSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Jan. 4, 1921.

Application filed September 16, 1919, Serial No. 324,100. Renewed July 6. 1920. Serial No. 394,231.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES M. RIHN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Continuone-Rail Crossings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway track crossings, and a purpose of my invention is the provision of a track crossing which eliminates the usual gaps in the surfaces of the track rails at the points of intersection, whereby the usual objectionable and detrimental jars to which a car is subjected in traversing a crossing are eliminated.

In carrying out my invention 1 provide rail sections which are movable vertically with respect to the rails of a pair of intersecting tracks to form, when in one position, gaps in the rails of the corresponding tracks, to provide clearances for the wheel flanges of a car traversing an intersecting track, and to fill such gaps when in another position to produce unbroken rail surfaces for the uninterrupted passage of a car thereover. The movable rail sections of the rail of one track are interconnected for simultaneous movement, and the sections of the rails of the intersecting track operate in a similar manner but alternately with respect thereto. In the present embodiment of my invention the movable rail sections at each of the two points of intersection of a rail are operated by a single cam which is arranged to elevate the section of one rail and to simultaneously lower the section of the intersecting rail, thereby eliminating the possibility of one rail section moving without movement or" the other.

I will describe one form of railway track crossing embodying my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of track crossing embodying my invention, in which a pair of intersecting tracks are shown;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showmg in side elevation the inner side of one of the rails R or R, shown in Fig. l, with the intersecting rails removed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing one of the movable rail sections in lowered position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the reverse side of one of the rails R or B;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing in side elevation the outer side of one of the rails R- or R and the adjacent intersecting rail;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail perspective views of the movable rail sections shown in the preceding views.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. l, I here show a track crossing comprising a track T including rails R and ll intersected by the rails B and R of a track T. The rails R and R are provided at points adjacent the intersections of the rails R and R with longitudinally extending slots 15, (see Fig. 2) each of which communicates adjacent the under end thereof with a cavity 16. The cavity 16, in turn, communicates with a vertically disposed slot 17 which extends from the tread surface of the rail downwardly to provide a gap in the rail surface. The slot 17 slidably receives a vertical movable rail section which section in its active position fills the gap and thereby provides a continuous rail surface for the wheels or a car. l vhen in the inactive position the rail sec tion is lowered to the position shown in Fig. 3, so that a gap is again formed to provide a clearance for a wheel flange of a wheel traversing track R or R The rail section S is moved to active or inactive position by means of a bar 13 which is mounted for longitudinal sliding movement within the slot 15, such bar being adapted to coact with a relatively short bar B which works vertically within the cavity 16 and upon which the rail section S is formed. As illustrated to advantage in Fig. 5,-the bar B has its forward end beveled to provide a cam surface 18, while adjacent the cam surface 18 the upper edge of the bar is recessed to provide a cavity 19, the rear wall of which latter is inclined to provide a cam surface 20. The construction of the bar B is clearly shown in Fig. 8, wherein its forward end is beveled to provide a cam surface 21 on the lower edge thereof, and is notched to provide a cavity as at 22, the rear wall of which is inclined to provide a cam surface 23. The upper edge of the bar B is formed with notches 2% which communicate with openings 25, and these notches and openings cooperate with similar notches and openings formed in the upper wall of the cavity 16 to receive rods 26, around which are coiled springs 27. The purpose of the rods and springs is to insure the movement of the rail section S to inactive position, it being understood that the springs 27 are arranged to bias the bar B downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing construction it will be clear that the bar B working below and contiguous to the bar B, the cam surfaces 18 and 20 of the bar B will coact with the cam surfaces 21 and 23 of the bar B to lower or elevate the bar B according as the bar B is moved forwardly or rearwardly within the slot 15. For example, with the bar B in the position shown in Fig. 2, the lower surface of the bar B rests upon the horizontal surface of thebar B and is therefore elevated to cause the rail section S to fill the slot 17 and thus provide a continuous rail surface. However, when the bar B is moved rearwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2, the bar B drops into the cavity 19 under the action of the springs 27, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, wherein the cam surfaces 18 and 23, and 20 and 21 lie contiguous to each other. In this position of the bar B the rail section S is lowered to the active position so that a gap is provided for the rail surfaces, as has been previously described. When it is desired to elevate the bar B so as to move the rail section into active position, the bar B is again moved forward to the position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the cam surfaces 18 and 20 wipe the cam surfaces 21 and 23, respectively, and thereby move the bar, upwardly against the tensionof the springs 27. As shown in Fig. 1, those portions of the rails R and R lying between the rails R and B have their ends disposed in spaced relation to the inner sides of the rails R and R. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide gaps to form clearances for the.

wheel flanges of a car traversing track T. These gaps areadapted to be filled so as to, provide a continuous rail surface for the rails R and B by rail sections S, which are adapted to be lowered and elevated ina manner similar tothe rail sections S. As shown in Figs. 5. and 7, each rail section S is dis posed at one side of the adjacent rail R or R and is formed on a block D. The block D is mounted for vertical movement to effectv a lowering and elevating of the section S and is adapted to be moved by a block D" secured to the adjacent side of the bar B. As shown in Fig. 7, the block D is provided with a cam 28 which co'acts with a cam 29 formed on one face ofa'cavity 30 of the block D. The arrangement of these two cams is such that in one extreme position of the block D, the block D is elevated so that the section S fills the space between the two adjacent rails and thereby provides a continuous rail'surface for the corresponding rails. In the other extreme position of the block D, the block D falls within the cavity 30 and thus lowers the rail section Sso that the spaces or gaps between the adjacent rails are again formed. To effect apositive lowering of the block D as has been described, I provide a spring 2 and a rodl26 which are arranged in amannersimilar to the rods 26 and the springs 27, so that the blockDis normally biased downwardly.

From theforegoingarrangement it will be clearthat theblock D is moved simultaneously with the bar. B, and in the forward position of thebar B the rail section S occupies a lower or inactive position, while in the rear position of the. bar B. the rail section S occupies an elevated, or active position. From this. operation, taken in conjunction with the operation ofthe rail section S, it will be seen that the ra lsection occupies an inactive position. when the rail section S is in active position, or vice versa, according as the bar B occupies one extreme position or theother.

To effect the simultaneous. actuation of the movable rail sectionsS and S of railsB- or R, the blocks D are connectedat their confronting ends by a rod 31, asshown in Fig. 2. This rod 31 provides a rigid connection between the blocks D,, so that upon movement of either block, the companion bar B is also movedso that the railsections of one rail are simultaneously elevated or lowered with the lowering or raising of the rail. sections S.

As shown in Fig. 1, the rail sections Sand S of rails RandOR are interconnected for simultaneous movement by a cross bar 32. The'opposite ends of the cross bar,- 32 are connected tothe rear ends of thebarB and the intermediate portion of suchjbar is connected to an operating rod 33, which latter, in turn, may be reciprocated toeffect a lat-- eral movement of the bar 32, by any suitable means (not shown). For instance, the rod 33 may be connected to theapparatus comprised in a signaling system so that the rail sections S and Sare movedto provide 0011- tinuous rail, surfaces on one track when a car is traversing said track and to provide the necessary clearance for the wheel flanges of the car on the rails of the intersecting track.

As shownin Figs. 1, 4, and5, Iprovide L- shaped plates P and P which are disposed upon opposite sides of the, rails, R and R. TheplatesP and.P'- are adapted to be secured to the sides of the rails to confine the bars B and B in operative position within the rails at all times. As shown in Fig. 6, the plate P is disposed below the rail surface of the rail It or R so as to allow tree passage of the wheel flanges, while the plate P being disposed upon the outer sides of the rails It and R may lie flush with the rail surfaces. Other plates or casings (not shown), may be provided to protect the op erating mechanism for the rail sections S and S against the elements and to thus insure the proper operation of such mechanism at all times. It will be understood that the showing of this matter is unnecessary and has been eliminated for the purpose of simplifying the drawings and to more clearly illustrate the various elements.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of railway track crossing embodying my invention, it is to be un derstood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a track crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed adjacent the points of intersection, a slot formed in one of the rails, a bar slidably fitted within said slot, a vertically movable bar above the first bar, cam surfaces formed on said bars and coacting to lower or elevate the second mentioned bar according as the first bar is moved in one direction or the other, a rail section carried by the second bar and adapt ed to work within the gaps formed in the corresponding rails, a block fixed to the first bar, a second block movable vertically within the other rail, coacting cam surfaces formed on said blocks to lower or elevate the second block according as the first block is moved in one direction or the other, and a second rail section carried by said second block and adapted to work within the gaps of the second rail.

2. In a track crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed adjacent the points of intersection, a bar slidable in one of the rails, a movable rail section for said. rail and adapted to fill the gap therein, means for connecting said bar and rail sec tion to lower or elevate the section according as the bar is moved in one direction or the other, a second rail section adapted to work within the gap of the other rails, a block supporting the second rail section, and means carried by said bar for lowering or elevating the second rail section according as the first rail section is elevated or lowered.

3. In a track crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed adjacent the points of intersection, rail sections vertically movable in said gaps, an actuating bar, and cam surfaces formed on said rail sections and bar for raising one of the rail sections and simultaneously lowering the other rail section according as the bar is moved in one direction or the other. I

l. In a track crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed therein and a slot formed in one of the rails, rail sections being vertically movable in said gaps, blocks carried by said rail sections, an actuating bar slidable in said slot, and cam surfaces formed on said blocks and bar which are adapted to coact to lower or elevate said rail sections when the bar is moved in one direction or the other.

5. In a tracl; crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed adjacent their points of intersection and cavities adjacent said gaps, one oi? the rails being formed with a slot which communicates with one of said cavities, blocks vertically movable in said cavities, means for biasing said blocks downwardly, rail sections formed on said blocks and working within said 'aps, an actuating bar slidable in said slot, said blocks and bar being recessed to provide coacting cam surfaces to efiect an alternate elevation 01"" said blocks against the action of said biasing means when said bar is moved in one direction or the other.

6. In a track crossing, a pair of intersecting rails having gaps formed adjacent their points of intersection and cavities adjacent said gaps, one of the rails being formed with a slot which communicates with one of said cavities, blocks vertically movable in said cavities, means for biasing said blocks downwardly, rail sections formed on said blocks and working within said gaps, an actuating bar slidable in said slot, said blocks and bar being recessed to provide coacting cam surfaces to effect an alternate elevation of said blocks against the action of said biasing means when said bar is moved in one direction or the other, and plates secured to the opposite sides of said rails, and arranged to confine said bar and blocks in operative position within said rails.

CHARLES MICHEAL RIHN. 

